Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) speaks during a news conference held by House Republicans on "Protecting America's Veterans" at the U.S. Capitol May 29, 2014 in Washington, DC. Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL), Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, and other leading Republicans have called for Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki to step down in the wake of an unfolding scandal relating to treatment of U.S. Veterans detailed in a recent investigative report. Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images.

GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, wants Navy Secretary Ray Mabus to resign for his controversial comments dismissing the recent Marine Corps study which showed that men outperform women on combat tasks.

Mabus’ long-intended plan to open up all combat positions in the Marine Corps infantry, the Navy SEALs, and the rest of the Department of the Navy hit a major obstacle when an excerpt of the study indicated that women suffer injuries at twice the rate of men, have a difficult time carrying and moving around heavy packs and are not nearly as accurate with firearms, Navy Times reports.

Last Friday, Mabus waved the study off by saying that male Marine officials went into the experiment with a biased mindset, which unduly influenced the results and caused women to underperform. He stuck hard and fast to what he said even before the study came out, namely that he does not intend to seek an exemption by Oct. 1 to keep any combat roles male-only.

He repeated similar criticisms of the study in a speech he delivered in Ohio. Marines didn’t react well, and neither did Hunter, who sent a letter to Defense Secretary Ash Carter requesting for Mabus to resign.

“Recent statements by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus — openly criticizing the Marine Corps and its study on the impact of gender integration — have created a deep sense of concern for the ability of the Navy Secretary to be objective and to continue leading the Marine Corps,” Hunter wrote to Carter.

“He has openly disrespected the Marine Corps as an institution, and he insulted the competency of Marines by disregarding their professional judgment, their combat experience and their quality of leadership,” Hunter added. “Such a significant loss of respect is detrimental to the ability of the Navy Secretary to effectively lead the men and women of the Marine Corps and ensure the service maintains the highest level of combat effectiveness.”

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